Tess Daly and Vernon Kay SPLIT after 23 years of marriage

Tess Daly and Vernon Kay were one of the most enduring celebrity couples.

Despite a ‘sexting’ scandal revealed in 2010, the television duo’s marriage has been one of the longest in showbusiness.

But last night, in a sensational statement, golden couple Tess, 57, and Vernon, 52, revealed that they have split, almost 23 years after they wed.

In a joint announcement, the former Strictly Come Dancing host and radio DJ said they had mutually agreed to go their separate ways, although friends of the couple reported that both were still at their marital home in Beaconsfield, Buckinghamshire, yesterday.

The couple wrote: “After much consideration, and with a deep sense of care and respect for one another, we have made the decision to separate amicably.

“This has not been an easy choice, but it comes from a place of mutual understanding and a shared desire for what is best for both of us. We remain great friends and, most importantly, fully committed to our roles as loving and supportive parents, which will always be our priority.

“There are no other parties involved in this decision. We kindly ask for privacy during this time.

“We will not be making any further public comments.”

Tess and Vernon – thought to be worth around £10 million – were last seen publicly together in February of this year when they hosted an episode of The One Show. They are also food ambassadors for Marks & Spencer.

Friends of the two, who met while presenting Top of the Pops@Play together in 2001, were stunned by the news.

One said: “When Vernon told me, I was stunned. I didn’t see it coming, nobody did. This is going to take some getting used to.”

While the split may have come as a surprise to outsiders, sources close to Tess and Vernon say they spent a ‘significant’ amount of time coming to this decision. Their two daughters, Phoebe, 21, and Amber, 16, were ‘completely involved’ in the discussions.

“Tess and Vernon are actually really, really happy now,” said a friend. “They’re still living together for now, but that will change in the near future. The girls were very much part of the decision. They had grown apart, they are different to when they first met. They acknowledged that and decided life would be better if they split. They are both in their 50s, they have so much time left, and they decided they would be happier not being together. It’s all very, very amicable.

“They’ve been through so much together. They’ve had more than two decades of laughter and are extremely proud of their girls, but they know splitting is the best decision.”

Sources say there is no third party involved, and it is understood that divorce lawyers have yet to be instructed, but that will happen down the line.

The couple began dating in the early 2000s when Tess hosted the children’s show SMTV and Vernon was a model trying to make it as a television presenter.

They were widely regarded as a bubbly, carefree pairing – when they married at St Mary’s Catholic Church in Horwich, near Bolton, where Vernon grew up, they had a VW camper van as their wedding car.

They were regarded as one of the strongest marriages in showbiz, despite Vernon being caught ‘sexting’ Page 3 model Rhian Sugden in 2010.

Tess had been devastated when she discovered Vernon had been messaging Rhian, but although they didn’t have a sexual relationship, Tess battled to save their marriage and eventually forgave him.

Their split comes just five months after Tess hosted her last ever Strictly, a show she had co-hosted with the late Sir Bruce Forsyth since it launched in 2004. Even during the final season, Vernon was a regular at Elstree Studios, where the program is made, to support his wife.

A friend of Tess said: “It’s all changed for her within six or seven months. She’s happy.”